Leon R. Meadows was East Carolina's first faculty veteran. He requested a leave of absence from his faculty position to volunteer for military duty in World War I in 1917. During the war, he served in the 81st and 30th Divisions in the intelligence corps. Upon his discharge, he returned to East Carolina to resume his duties as head of the English department. He was chosen to replace Robert H. Wright as school president after Wright's death in 1934.